Carrot Patties

Some people love the naturally sweet crunch of the orange wonder known as the carrot. While others only pick up this vibrant vegetable if it is dunked into ranch dressing or blue cheese dip. Whether you love or hate carrots, we can all agree they are used to make the most delicious foods like carrot cake, carrot bread, our own honey orange roasted carrots recipe and carrot patties!

White Carrots? 

I know what you are thinking. White carrots? There's no way! Believe it or not, the vibrant carrots we enjoy today carrots used to be white. Carrots are a member of the Apiaceaespecies. Carrots were originally cultivated for their leaves and seeds like their distant cousins, parsley, and coriander. 

The chemical aggregates that provide carrots their rich color are known as carotenoids. Recessive genes are responsible for the excessive generation of carotenoids. This substance is ordinarily present in plants grown above ground and plays a sizeable role in photosynthesis. Carrots are a root vegetable grown underground. How did these tall stalks with white flowers grace our dinner plates with their bright orange color? To uncover the answer, you must look to the carrot's history. 

Where Did Carrots Originate? 

Carrots were introduced in what is now known as latter-day Iran and Afghanistan. To be more specific, the common consensus is that the eastern, purple-rooted carrot hails from the province of Afghanistan at the junction of the Himalayan and Hindu Kush mountains. These purple carrots were believed to be cultivated in Afghanistan and neighboring regions of Russia, Iran, India, Pakistan, and Anatolia.

The purple carrot and its yellow adaptation made their way to the shores of Western Europe and the Mediterranean provinces from the 11–14th centuries. From there, these vibrant vegetables traveled to China, India, and Japan during from the 14th century up to the 17th century.

People were so enamored with the purple carrots color; they began performing experiments to create new colors of carrots. In fact, by the start of the 1000s, farmers were cultivating red and yellow carrots in West Asia. 

Prior to the 16th century, carrots were purple or yellow with long roots that usually ran up to 30 centimeters. The yellow roots gained popularity because anthocyanins were not discharged while cooking. However, during the 16th century, innovative Dutch farmers used selective breeding to create an orange carotene derivative of the yellow strains of carrots. This discovery led to the vibrantly orange carrot we all know today.

Types Of Cultivated Carrots

Carrots consist of approximately 32,000 genes. That's right! Carrots have more genes than humans! Their genetic makeup is responsible for their shape, color, and flavor. These three factors also serve as the standard measure used to divide carrots into one of two categories. Carrots are typically divided into anthocyanin, or eastern-type subcategories, including yellow or purple carrots and carotene, or western-types carrot, which encompasses yellow, orange, or red carrots. 

Eastern Anthocyanin Carrots

Eastern carrots are commonly called anthocyanin carrots because of their purplish-black roots. Some of these carrots can also have yellow roots. Additionally, these carrots have thicker, shorter, slender, tapered roots and adolescent leaves, supplying them with gray-green color. Eastern carrots are cultivated in Turkey, Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, and India. Nevertheless, the most remarkable diversity of these carrots typically comes from Afghanistan, Russia, Iran, and India. These varieties are usually deficient in vitamin A and carotenoids. Although Anthocyanin carrots are still grown in Asia, they are quickly being replaced by Western orange carrots.

Western Carotene Carrots

These carrots usually come in three varieties: orange, red or white. They are have pointed roots, and their leaves more mature than their eastern counterparts. These carrots are presumed to be descendants of the offspring from the first group of selectively bred carrots, a combination of yellow Eastern carrots, white carrots, and wild subclass grown in the Mediterranean. 

Tips For Making Carrot Patties 

Before attempting to make this recipe, there are a few tips you should know. As with most vegetables, carrots have contain substantial quantities of water. Let your carrots sit for 10 minutes on a plate lined with paper towels before adding them to the other ingredients. This simple trick allows the paper towels act as a sponge soaking up moisture released from the carrots giving you a crispier patty. 

If you are simply not a fan of carrots, you can use zucchini. Although it takes a little more work, you will have equally delicious patties. Be sure to place your zucchini into a colander, sprinkle over a teaspoon of salt and rinse your zucchini under cold water. Lay the shredded zucchini on a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth, squeeze as much of the water out as possible, and your zucchini will be ready to use.

Additionally, you can also cook these carrot patties in an air fryer. Air frying decreases the carrot patties baking time by at least 15 minutes or more! Line your air fryer's basket with parchment paper and scoop the batter into the basket. Cook it for 5 minutes at 375, flip them over and cook them for 2-3 minutes. 

Best of all, these carrot patties can be frozen. Let the carrot patties cool to room temperature, place them into an airtight container, and freeze them. When you are ready to eat your carrot patties, thaw them and bake them for 10-15 minutes at 375F. 

How to make Carrot Patties

This carrot pettie recipe is fool-proof and requires minimal effort. You don't even have to grate your carrots by hand; you can just shred them in a food processor outfitted with the grating attachment. These patties are made with simple, versatile, economical ingredients that come together to create a deliciously golden brown patty of joy. 

To make the carrot patties, combine the carrots, eggs, spring onion, and leeks in a large bowl and generously season it with salt, pepper, and herbs. Next, add the crushed cornflakes and oil, form the batter into patties and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. 

Bake the carrot patties and that’s it. In a few short minutes, you will yield a healthy, flavorful patty that will make you fall in love with this winter vegetable. 

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